Banjo World Tour 2007

Petersburg is a key Civil War site, as the epic siege there
ground down Lees Confederate army in a protracted war of attrition as the
Union troops attempted to capture a key railroad junction supplying Richmond,
the Confederate Capital. The view of the three experts you will see in the
following pictures is that the grinding down of Lees army by superior numbers
of Feds was as important as capturing the town itself, as on our map it would
have been easier to bypass the town and cut the rail link elsewhere.

Lee finally yielded to the overwhelming pressureóthe point at which
supply lines were finally cut and a true siege would have begunóand
abandoned both cities in April 1865, leading to his retreat and surrender in
the Appomattox
Campaign. The Siege of Petersburg foreshadowed the trench warfare that
would be common in World
War I, earning it a prominent position in military history. It also
featured the largest concentration of African
American troops employed in the war, who suffered heavy casualties at such
engagements as the Battle
of the Crater and Chaffin's
Farm

Various pieces on display outside the visitor center, which
is near Battery XII and the area of the battle for Fort Steadman

A Confederate position (Battery XII) later overrun by the
Feds and used again as a gun position. Not the largest fortification you will
ever assault...

Some of the park is now forested, and this would have been
cut down in the War to provide wood for various uses. However its useful to
imagine what the many wooded areas in Fire & Fury maps look like for real.
I may have to buy a lot of new trees....

The Dictator Siege Mortar. This used to lob a handful or
large mortar shells into the town on a daily basis from this position.

The ground falls away to a stream, which means the
earthworks seem more intimidating from the appropriate angle...just as long as
the Feds don't assault from the Visitor Centre eh?

Another view of the slope

Re-enactors employed by the National Park Service litter the
battlefield giving realistic demonstrations of period dress and military drill
for the benefit of passers by.

A re-created earthworks shows what the real scene may have
looked like

Firing positions for artillery give a commanding view over
the enemy approaches

Sometimes the presence of the Park Service Re-enactors can
get irritating. However they were able to help me direct fire to prevent
several SUV's approaching down the road.

I think this is what's called dead ground ? Useful for any
terrain mat manufacturer..

More obstacles

This imposing obstacle was the basis for the defensive line
of the Confederates after they fell back from the previous positions at the
end of the battle in 1865, and had previously been a dividing line between the
armies earlier in the siege.

It looked paltry, but then again, none of us fancied
manhandling a Parrot gun over it under close range fire from grey-suited
redneck sharpshooters..

Click here for the National Park Service display board on
this stream.

This is an epic Civil war story, of ingenuity, political
meddling, brilliance, heroism and incompetence in equal measure. The Union
troops attempted to dig a mine below the Confederate lines and create a
huge explosion to break open the defences.

This is the forming up point for the Union attack planned
for after the explosion

The entrance to the mineshaft

Click the image to learn how the 500 foot long shaft was
ventilated.

The battle features in the film Cold Mountain. But the
crater in the film is much larger than the real one !

The mine and explosion worked, however the union troops who
then stormed the crater were so shocked by the devastation they saw - and so
poorly supported by their colleagues - that a vigorous Confederate defence was
able to pin them down in the smoking hole and slaughter them, eventually
costing the Union many times more losses than it inflicted, and preventing a
breakthrough.

This is where the Confederate counter attack came from.
There are numerous monuments erected on this site by the Sisters of the
Confederacy and various other arguably politically dubious organizations.
Their continued presence is almost as enlightening as some of the walk-rounds.

Behind another re-enactor you can see the rather
unimpressive earthworks and ramparts thrown up by the explosion.